Andrew Warren, Chairman of the British Energy Efficiency Federation, writes in the September issue of Energy in Buildings & Industry about an important energy efficiency initiative in Britain that is agonisingly slow to get off the ground. An initiative to improve the energy efficiency of Britain’s rented homes, begun 12 years ago, shows no sign of coming to fruition any time soon. And, with the cost of living crisis together with the climate and energy crises we face, Andrew asks the right question.
Why are Britain’s renters being made to suffer?
In 2011, the Cameron government passed an Energy Act. This Act effectively mandated the introduction of requirements that landlords should improve the energy efficiency of the homes that they let out. It was an early step towards achieving Net Zero ambitions by 2050.
To give suitable notice time , introduction of requirements to improve the very worst performing buildings was deliberately delayed until 2016 for new leases.
Even then, the proportion of homes being rented privately was growing . At the time there was a special tax break introduced, called the Landlords Energy Saving Allowance . This enabled expenditure on improving insulation, glazing, lighting and heating, to be offset against tax.
Tighten energy standards
In 2017 the May Government published its “Clean Growth Strategy”. This stated that the Government intended to tighten energy standards for privately rented homes from the new minimum grade E energy performance certificate (EPC), up to grade C by 2025.
In 2020 the Johnson government published a detailed timetable, stating that all new rentals would need to be at a minimum C rating from 2025, with all existing lettings following suit by 2028. Doing so would , it reckoned, ensure 90,000 extra jobs, and a net benefit to the UK economy of £3.6 billion.
Consequently, many substantial property companies began overtly reorganising their property portfolios, noting that gas-guzzling buildings were losing their relative value. In contrast, some of the smaller property owners opted to sit tight, and do nothing, but wait for the government to produce the fine details concerning these changes.
Their experiences had been encouraging with the 2016 changes. Whilst the Government had not altered the declared timetable, it had provided lots of opt outs for those who reckoned it would cost them far too much to get round to improving the places they rented out. Leaving their tenants still enduring both howling draughts and excessive fuel bills.
It also became clear that monitoring of compliance would be distinctly variable in different parts of the country. Whilst some local authorities , deliberately noisily, set about inspecting, warning and even prosecuting recalcitrant landlords, others simply sat on their hands. And took little or no action.
Withdrawal of tax break
Meanwhile the government without warning suddenly withdrew without explanation the welcome special tax break, the Landlord’s Energy Saving Allowance. Making this entirely a policy of sticks for landlords, with no carrots on offer.
The government has been very slow to publish the final details of the 2025 proposals. For 30 months Ministers kept on telling Parliament these would become available ‘shortly.”
But then last month the levelling up secretary Michael Gove suddenly announced that such requirements towards net zero were happening “too much, too quickly”. This was despite the fact that this process had begun 12 years before. And that consequently “ we should relax the pace” of improvements.
There would now, Gove announced, be no changes to rental standards until well after 2028. His minions briefed the Daily Telegraph that , as EPCs had been initially introduced in reference to Article 6 of the European energy performance of buildings directive, there was now every reason for not progressing them.
Conveniently forgetting that, in practice, the adoption of differential EPC standards for rentals had actually been entirely initiated by an Act of. Parliament promoted by the David Cameron government- of which Gove had been a prominent member.
Gove’s surprise intervention coincided with the Government’s energy department issuing a separate press release, conceding that the majority of properties still remain below even that modest EPC C rating. Achieving such a C rating, it said, would be “saving them hundreds on their energy bills.”
Reduce living costs
Improving the energy standards of rented housing would seriously reduce living costs for the millions of households occupying low standard homes. Last winter the University College London research lab measured fuel consumption in 13,000 homes, and found that E rated homes had gas bills 52% higher, and electricity bills 31% higher, than those in C rated homes. Qutlawing D and E rated homes could mean lowering individual fuel bills by approaching one thousand pounds a year.
Simultaneously the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pledged not to “unnecessarily” add costs and “hassle” to households, on the path to meeting the nation’s legally binding net zero climate targets. Which transparently improving EPC ratings would never do.
So there is an obvious question. Why on earth is Gove apparently blocking an established initiative, endorsed by three previous Conservative Prime Ministers, that would decrease costs and improve the living standards of the millions of voters, who continue to live in sub-standard rented accommodation?
Energy in Demand - Sustainable Energy - Rod Janssen 
Since this article of mine was published, last week, Gove’s boss, Richi Sunak, has illogically ENDORSED his silly ideas. How foolish of me ever to believe that common sense might prevail.
Well, common sense definitely has not prevailed. That said, it is a very good article you wrote.